High Voltage Software Explained

High Voltage Software, Inc.
Type:Subsidiary
Industry:Video games
Founder:Kerry J. Ganofsky
Hq Location City:Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hq Location Country:US
Num Employees:160
Num Employees Year:2006
Parent:Keywords Studios (2020–present)

High Voltage Software, Inc. (HVS) is an American video game developer based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Founded in April 1993 by Kerry J. Ganofsky, the company is best known for developing Lego Racers (1999), Hunter: The Reckoning (2002) and The Conduit (2009).

History

High Voltage Software was founded by Kerry J. Ganofsky in April 1993, following his graduation from college. Out of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, the company started out with four employees and used old doors set on top of sawhorses as desks. In June 2006, the company had 160 employees.

In 2008 interviews, High Voltage leadership expressed interest in improving the quality of contemporary third-party Wii games. The company developed Quantum3, a game engine that specifically targets Wii deployment. The engine itself had been used in several previous titles made by the developer, but was heavily upgraded for higher performance on Wii.

In December 2014, Ganofsky announced that High Voltage would be opening a satellite studio for the company in Place St. Charles in New Orleans. The opening, scheduled for early 2015, would provide 80 new job opportunities in the area, with initial staff transferred from the company's Hoffman Estates headquarters. Through the opening, High Voltage was able to take advantage of local financial incentives, including a performance-based grant to cover relocation costs, workforce training programs and a digital media incentive. Prior to the announcement, Ganofsky also considered opening the studio in Georgia or Florida, but found New Orleans to be a better cultural fit for High Voltage. As a result, talks between economic development leaders in the area and Ganofsky began in October 2013.

In December 2020, High Voltage Software was acquired by Keywords Studios for an initial consideration of in cash and in shares, as well as additional for performance targets to be met by December 31, 2021.

Unreleased projects

The Grinder

In the late 2000s, High Voltage began developing a horror-themed shooter called The Grinder. The game initially began production exclusively for the Wii, the developers, as well as potential publishers for The Grinder, became less confident that the game would be a success on that system, as there were multiple instances of similar hardcore and/or graphically violent games designed for the Wii, such as MadWorld, and Red Steel 2 that failed to sell many copies. Development for the Wii version eventually began to wind down quietly by 2010, although High Voltage Software refused to state whether that version was officially cancelled. The developers also designed PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game, which were initially going to play as first-person shooters like the Wii version, but plans for this ultimately fell through when it failed to appeal to candidate publishers and the developers realized that there was an ongoing oversatuation of the first-person shooter video game market. After careful consideration, they decided to not only redesign the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions as a top-down shooter, but also change the game's setting, plot and character designs to a substantial degree.

In 2013, High Voltage Software, in an interview, implied that one significant reason why it was difficult to release The Grinder was because it was being developed during a time when the video game industry was more interested in well-established intellectual properties, rather than newly introduced ones like that of The Grinder. The company then expressed hope that they can be in better position to launch new intellectual properties like The Grinder when a new generation of video games began.[1] However, having lost substantial money and jobs from the troubled development of The Grinder, as well as poor sales of Conduit 2, the company decided not to revisit The Grinder.

Games developed

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)
1995White Men Can't JumpAtari JaguarAtari Corporation
Ruiner PinballAtari Jaguar
Sega 32XInterplay Entertainment
Vid GridAtari Jaguar CDAtari Corporation
1996NHL Open IceMicrosoft WindowsMidway Games
Atari Jaguar
Fight For LifeAtari JaguarAtari Corporation
NBA HangtimeMicrosoft WindowsMidway Games
Tempest 2000Classic Mac OS, Sega SaturnInterplay Entertainment
Tempest X3PlayStation
1997World League BasketballMicrosoft Windows, PlayStationMindscape
NCAA Final Four '97Microsoft Windows, PlayStation
1999PaperboyNintendo 64Midway Games
Lego RacersMicrosoft Windows, Nintendo 64, PlayStationLego Media
NBA Inside Drive 2000Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft
2000Microsoft WindowsSierra Studios
All-Star Baseball 2001Nintendo 64Acclaim Entertainment
NFL Quarterback Club 2001Dreamcast, Nintendo 64
2002GameCubeInterplay Entertainment
Microsoft WindowsUbi Soft
NBA Inside Drive 2002XboxMicrosoft
PlayStation 2Disney Interactive
NBA Inside Drive 2003XboxMicrosoft Game Studios
Hunter: The ReckoningGameCube, XboxInterplay Entertainment
2003PlayStation 2Vivendi Universal Games
Xbox
NBA Inside Drive 2004XboxMicrosoft Game Studios
Disney's The Haunted MansionGameCube, PlayStation 2, XboxTDK Mediactive
2004Duel MastersPlayStation 2Atari
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, XboxSierra Entertainment
2005ZathuraPlayStation 2, Xbox2K Games
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryGameCube, PlayStation 2, XboxGlobal Star Software
PlayStation PortableVivendi Games
GameCubeActivision
GameCube, PlayStation 2, XboxGlobal Star Software
2006The Grim Adventures of Billy & MandyPlayStation 2, Gamecube, WiiMidway Games
PlayStation Portable
Family Guy Video Game!PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox2K Games, Fox Interactive
2007Harvey Birdman: Attorney at LawPlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, WiiCapcom
PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, WiiD3 Publisher
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2PlayStation PortableUbisoft
Xbox 360
2008PlayStation 2, Wii2K Play
WiiHigh Voltage Software
GyrostarrWii
PlayStation 2, Wii2K Play
PlayStation 2, Wii
2009PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, WiiD3 Publisher
High Voltage Hot Rod ShowWiiHigh Voltage Software
PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, WiiD3 Publisher
PlayStation 2, Wii2K Play
PlayStation 2, Wii
Evasive SpaceWiiAkinai Games
The ConduitWiiSega
2010Iron Man 2Wii, PlayStation Portable
Tournament of LegendsWii
Dora's Big Birthday AdventurePlayStation 2, Wii2K Play
Pheasants Forever WingshooterWiiGameMill Entertainment
Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerWii, Nintendo DSRed Wagon Games
2011Conduit 2WiiSega
Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Nicktoons MLBWii, Xbox 3602K Play
Nickelodeon FitWii
Nickelodeon DanceWii, Xbox 360
Xbox 360D3 Publisher
Country DanceWiiGameMill Entertainment
Country Dance 2Wii
2012Country Dance All-StarsXbox 360
Kinect Star WarsXbox 360LucasArts, Microsoft Studios
Zone of the Enders HD CollectionPlayStation 3, Xbox 360Konami
Toy Story Mania!PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Disney Interactive Studios
Nickelodeon Dance 2Wii, Xbox 3602K Play
Avengers InitiativeAndroid, iOSDisney Interactive
Android, iOSWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
WiiD3 Publisher
2013Le VampiOSHigh Voltage Software
iOS
The Conduit HDAndroid
Mortal KombatMicrosoft WindowsWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Enter the DominatrixPlayStation 4, Xbox OneDeep Silver
PlayStation 4, Microsoft WindowsWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii UD3 Publisher
2014The Amazing Spider-Man 2Nintendo 3DSActivision
2015PlayStation 4, Xbox OneDeep Silver
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Mortal Kombat XMicrosoft WindowsWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2016Damaged CoreMicrosoft WindowsOculus Studios
Dragon FrontMicrosoft Windows
2017They Live to DestroyMicrosoft Windows
2018Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneFuncom
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneEpic Games
2019Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneGameMill Entertainment, Maximum Games
BallistaOculus Quest, Oculus RiftOculus Studios

Canceled

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bargas. G.. Interview: High Voltage Software Says 'The Grinder' Still Possible. GamingTruth. 22 May 2018. 10 April 2013. January 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210127224838/https://www.gamingtruth.com/2013/04/10/interview-high-voltage-software-says-the-grinder-still-possible/. live.